Continuing his trend of doing more with less, Westminster Councilman Sergio Contreras secured $250,000 in grant funding for the purchase and installation of Greenfield exercise equipment in three parks in the City of Westminster.

The first of three installations was completed and celebrated with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at Westminster Park Wednesday. The other two locations are expected to identified and competed by early next year.

“I wanted to create opportunities to increase physical activity and improve health and wellness for our community, especially those that do not can afford a gym membership, but I did not want to utilize general fund dollars that money is better spent on public safety and education,” Contreras said at the ribbon cutting for the new outdoor exercise equipment at Westminster Park Wednesday. “Instead I requested that we use Federal Community Development Block Grant funding for the new free outdoor community gyms at three of our City’s parks. Luckily, I was able to win unanimous support from my colleagues on the Council for this idea.
Thanks to Contreras’ advocacy and vision, the City was able to allocate the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund, one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to complete the project.
The equipment at Westminster Park is open to the public and available for use immediately.

“This is another example of what can be done when leaders do their jobs responsibly,” said Lena Nguyen, a Westminster resident. “Now we have an improved community without a politician asking for a hand-out from residents. I can’t wait to utilize this equipment and see others in the community benefit from it too.”